At the end of the day there's another day dawning
by munkinette
Summary: The desperate soul wrapped in a red cloak shivers as she begs to be locked away in his dungeon. Rumplestiltskin's eyes mock her, for she has come too late. He already holds captive the princess he wants. Another deal must be struck instead. Another story must begin. "In the Name of the Brother"-inspired ficlet.


She startles when she faces the walls. She wonders how it is that she has made it here so fast. The Dark Castle rises abruptly in front of her, and it is real and compelling. The place she comes to in seek of help looks anything but helpful. But then again, Red knows that it is not help what she needs. She needs magic. And dark magic is not given freely, but dealt for.

If she'd wanted a gentle hand held out to her, she'd have stayed at home. She would have been warm and protected by the little family she had left, but then they would be gone, too, for _they_ would be unprotected from _her. _And there would truly be no home, no warmth for her, not ever again. There will be plenty of time to hide behind thick locks, to drown herself in tears, and then, maybe, try to pick up the pieces of what had once been her life. But now this is what she has to do, and she is where she needs to be to get it done. If anyone were to bargain with a monster and have a chance at coming out victorious, it would have to be yet another monster. A monster like her.

And so Red hugs her cloak tighter around her shaking shoulders and quickens her pace on the ice-covered cobble stones. The harsh wind has been poking at her the entire journey and it feels now like a thousand daggers are seeping into her skin. And yet she knows such pain is small, nothing like the devastation that her fangs had caused, tearing through the flesh of innocent men. So many of them... A breathless sob escapes her, and she tries hard to focus only on placing one foot in front of the other. Each step brings her closer to the sorcerer who can prevent such horrors from ever happening again. He had once enchanted her cloak, a long, long time ago. That is what her Granny had told her, and the thought is somewhat soothing. She desperately needs to believe that he will be willing to do something for her again.

Little time passes before she faces great wooden doors, and she swings one open, letting herself inside the castle. She is not afraid of where she is or of what she is doing. She is completely terrified that she might not succeed.

"Shouldn't you have _knocked_, dearie?"

A strange creature spats the words at her as it dissolves out of purple mist. The mist is gone in an instant and its eyes, _his_ eyes, are boring into hers. They are too large, his skin is too green and his nails are too sharp. He looks too small for who he is, and he is dressed too elegant for what he does. But Red has learned by now not to be mislead by appearances. This is Rumplestiltskin and everything else fades to black.

He is waving a mocking finger at her, and although his posture is casual, she sees darkness and destruction burning behind his eyes. She knows that one flick of his hand would turn her into dust.

"I... I want to make a deal."

She tries to sound bold, but she's surprised by how much her voice is shaking, by how dry her mouth suddenly is. She doesn't understand why. She does not fear this creature, this sorcerer. Ah, but she fears that she will not be granted her wish.

He lets out a manic little giggle that resonates throughout the halls and would no doubt freeze the blood in her veins, were her blood human.

"If _I_ want a deal to be struck, _I_ come to you. You don't get to barge into my castle. Alas, I see the time for manners has past." His words are biting, but between the two of them, Red knows that she is the one biting harder.

"I apologize... for trespassing. Please, I need to make a deal!" She spins on her heels not to lose him out of her sight as he moves in maddening circles around her. She sounds a little desperate now, and she has no doubt it is how he wants her. She has always been the hunter, never the hunted before, not truly, and the realization leaves her unsteady.

"And what is it that you _need_, dearie?" He bares his teeth at her, every bit the beast that people say he is. She knows that gesture. She recognizes it as one of her own. She can taste the blood on her tongue, she can feel its warmth on her face. The blood of the man she loves.

"For you to bring back someone who has died."

Another giggle conquers the enclosed space, a lot louder and more frightening this time because of how much it sounds to her like defeat.

"Why does everyone ask me that?" Rumplestiltskin's hands wave animatedly in the air. Red's knees shake and weaken just as much. "I can do much, but no that. Dead is dead. Or well chewed, in his case."

As he speaks the words, his face scrunches in distaste, and Red feels her hands turn into claws by their own volition. For a few sharp moments her body is taut as a wire, and then she lounges at him, wanting nothing more than to claw at his chest until she ends him or he ends her. But way before she can actually reach him, there is empty air where he has stood just a second before, and she crumbles to the floor, a pulsing, bright red heap on the cold, humid tiles.

"Now, now... That's no way for a guest to behave, is it?"

She hears his boots, clicking rhythmically on the dark marble as he begins to circle her once more. Her cloak is heavier than ever on her shoulders, and Red knows that, whatever he has done to it, she is now every bit a mouse trapped in his cage and not the almighty wolf.

"How about I offer you something else, hmm? Instead of... _true love_?" His eyes sparkle with mockery as he bends down to look at her, tilting her chin up with one crooked finger. She wants to say no, that there is nothing else she would take from him. But, somehow, she finds herself whispering: "W-what?"

Rumplestiltskin grins, knowing fully well that he has got the little mouse in his thrall, to bait as he pleases.

"I can send you to another land. A dull, black-and-white world where your blood-tainted little cloak will be no different." The sorcerer's voice is almost like a song, and Red briefly wonders whether it is meant to hypnotise her into acceding to his every whim. "Where Red Riding Hood and the big bad wolf would merely be a fairytale..." She wonders, that is, until the meaning of his words registers.

Could... could there be such a place? It's something so unheard of... And could she be another, there? A girl, an ordinary girl. Like she had been, before the world shattered to pieces around her and the flesh tearing monster came out.

She rises from the floor on shaking limbs, her cloak suddenly less heavy with the glimmer of hope in her heart.

"Could... could my Granny come, too?"

"I'm not dealing with _Granny_, am I? I am dealing with you. It's you, or no deal."

"But... she'll be left all alone."

"We're all alone, dearie," he says, matter of factly. "You're missing the point," he spats then, visibly angered. "Freedom - yours. You will forget everything that had happened with your... unfortunate betrothed. You will forget your kin had killed more souls that any man could count. Your family will grieve for you no longer."

Red feels a tear running down her cheek. Granny will grieve for her forever.

"What... what do you want me to do in return?"

"Do? That's the beauty of it. You don't have to do anything, dearie! You simply forget."

Red's brow furrows in confusion. _"I do nothing?!"_ The sorcerer reads her mind.

"You will meet a man, in this new land. A... healer. You will stay close to him. You will make it so that what needs to happen, happens."

"When? When do I leave?"

Rumplestiltskin rejoices in the defeated tone of the girl's voice. That's how he likes his poor, unfortunate souls. Desperate.

"Soon, dearie. Quite soon."

"Then, we have a deal," she whispers.

"Excellent!" Rumplestiltskin rubs his hands together happily, black nails capturing the light. "Now scram. I have a pretty little guest to attend to."

"Wait!" Red's voice stops him before he can trail into the darkness of one of the corridors.

"Why, aren't you troublesome."

"It's just... may... may I stay here until you send me to this other land? Please. I... I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"I don't keep pets, dearie," he giggles. The beast actually giggles.

"Please, I..." She moves a tentative hand towards his shoulder, unsure of what it is that she can offer. No, she can't get herself to touch him. She glances around them then, but it's impossible to see anything but the darkness. "I could tend to the castle..."

"I already have a caretaker," he says darkly. "Don't need another. Don't _want_ you. This castle already has its monster. But you needn't worry, your time will come soon enough. So, run along now. Say your goodbyes. It's more than many of us have been allowed." Red thinks there's something akin to sorrow in his voice. She can recognize a whimpering beast when she hears one.

She doesn't know when or how, but she finds herself once more in the harsh, cold air, tall metal gates tightly shut behind her. Through them, she chances one more glance back at the Dark Castle. Now that she has struck her deal - not the deal that she so desperately desired, but _a_ deal, she can look closer. She can actually see.

There's a small light coming from one of the turrets. The one with the most pointed rooftop, the one stabbing at the sky - the Dark One, defying and menacing whatever gods still ruled their land. He's not much different from her, this monster. She had been a menace, too, to those around her. She had deceived them with fake innocence and then haunted them down in the dread of night, robbing them of their chance at life.

There's also a brief flicker of light shining from what looks like the dungeon. It seems to be vibrating in unison with the light in the turret.

Red sighs and turns her back to the castle. She turns back home, with a still small voice inside her that wasn't there before, whispering that she might have found her own little flicker of hope in this gruesome place after all.

* * *

**Cover art by Adrian Domnisan / Art on Wall ( look him up on Facebook, he's pretty awesome! ;) )**


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